Car-coupling



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0. P. GONLEY.

GAR COUPLING.

No. 476,786. if Patented June 14, 1892.

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19 um 4 V a n w? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcE.

OLIVER P. CONLEY, OF EATON, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 476,786, dated June 14, 1892.

Application filed March 9, 1891. Serial no. 424,327. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLIVER P. CONLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Eaton, in the county of Preble and State of Ohio, have invented anew and useful Oar-Coupling, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in automatic car-couplings.

The obj ect of the present invention is to simplify and improve the construction of pinsupport car-couplings and to render their operation positive and reliable.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective View of a carcoupling constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken longitudinally of the draw-head. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the draw- I designates a draw-head having a daring lnouth 2 and providedwith a longitudinal opening 3, in whichis arranged a spiral spring 4, adapted to be compressed and moved backward by a link 5 to cause acoupling-pin 6, which is supported by the spring 4, to fall and engage the link, whereby two cars are automatically coupled, thereby avoiding the necessity of a person going between the cars. The coupling-pin 6 is arranged in a pin-opening 7 and is provided with collars 8 and 9, the former being adapted to give the couplingpin the necessary Weight to cause it to fall readily, and the collar 9 being rounded and adapted to rest upon the link 5 to prevent the pin dropping too far. Should alink be too wide for the lower collar 9, the upper collar will rest upon the top of the draw-head,which is enlarged vertically. The coupling-pin is connected, preferably .b y ball-and-socket joint 10 or an equivalent construction to the inner end of an operating-lever 11, which is fulcrumed on a post or support 12 and which has its outer end arranged in a keeper 13 of a size to prevent the coupling-pin being ontirely withdrawn from the opening of the draw-head. The keeper is provided with a gravity-latch 14, to prevent the coupling-pin becoming accidentally uncoupled. The post orsupport 12 is pivotally mounted on a bracket-plate 15. It has its upper end 16 bifurcated and provided with a series of perforations adapted for the reception of a bolt 17, on which the operating-lever is fulcrumed, and the le ver is provided with perforations 18 to permit it to be adjusted longitudinally. The outer end of the lever may be slightly curved, as shown, to make it more compact and to enable it to lie more closely to thecar 19. The draw-head is provided with a recess 20, in which, should the supportin g-sprin g at become broken, the coupling-pin may be supported in an elevated position, and the pin is then adapted to drop by gravity, the jar caused by the cars coming together throwing the pin out of the recess or the pin being slightly moved by the operating-lever to carry it out of the recess.

It will be seen that the coupling is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that by it cars are adapted to couple automatically, that they are prevented accidentally uncoupling, and that they may be readily uncoupled when desired without necessitating persons going between the cars. The spiral spring which supports the pin is strengthened at its front end by a block or plug 22, which prevents the coils of the spring bending.

The mechanism herein shown and described is illustrated in the accompanying drawings as applied to a particular construction of draw-head; but it is capable of universal application and may be conveniently applied to the ordinary construction of draw-heads in use on railroad-cars.

lVhat I claim is-- 1. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head having a longitudinal opening and provided with a pin-opening, a pin-supporting spring arranged in the longitudinal opening and adapted to be moved rearward by a link, and a coupling-pin arranged in the pinopening and adapted to be supported by the spring and provided with the lower rounded collar and the upper enlarged collar, substan tially as described.

2. In a car-coupling, the combination of a draw-head having a longitudinal opening and provided with a pin-opening, a pin-supporting spring arranged in the longitudinal opening, a pin supported by the spring and provided With the lower rounded collar and the upper enlarged collar, a pivoted snpportingpost, an

operating-lever fulcrumed on the post and connected with the coupling-pin, and a keeper provided with a latch and receiving the outer end of the lever, substantially as described.

3. In a car-couplingthe combination of a draw-head having a longitudinal opening and provided with a pin-opening and having a recess communicating with the pin-opening and OLIVER P. OONLEY.

Witnesses:

JOHN RISINGER, J. FOSTER. 

